Pumpkin Patch

 We have this huge lawn and garden store behind our backyard and I can't believe it has taken me 2 1/2 years to get over there! It is fantastic and if we owned our home I am sure I would be there all the time, dreaming of all the beautiful things to plant and design. Last year I found out they had a free pumpkin patch, but we never made it out there. So, my goal was to try to take advantage of it this year. After a run, breakfast, haircuts, room cleaning, etc... we finally headed out there this morning.

 It was a perfect, free, family activity. Even though it felt more like early summer than a crisp Autumn day we enjoyed getting fresh air and of course pictures of the kids to show off.

 How sweet is that? Oh man, they are growing up so quickly!

What a great backdrop! Wish he could stay still....

Running the race!

 After a couple months of training race day was finally here! I am sure a few of you reading this have done much more than a 10K, but for some of us girls running anything was a huge feat! I am so blessed by this group of friends (plus two not in this picture). The Lord has brought us all together, just when we needed to help spur one another on in life in Christ, motherhood, parenting, marriage and so much more.

The morning of the race it was freezing! I was glad to get the second leg though, minus suffering through the frosty morning. I'm glad to say I ran 6.5 miles with an average of 9.5 min miles (this is my educated guess no actual data), which, for me, is really good. Anyway, I loved it and the process and am looking forward to our (hopefully) next race sometime in 2012. I did run this morning after I took a week off, but my 4 miles felt like 6. That night we had a celebration feast and these are all our beautiful kids between our 7 families. Can you believe it? So much fun and so much more to come!

Who's counting?

 Now that M buddy is past the year mark, I always have to pause and think when people ask how old he is. I could say "one", but we all know a 1 year old who is almost 2 is so different than a just turned 1 year old. Not that it matters, really.
So, here he is just 13 months, discovering the world around him, trying to rake leaves. I'm not sure why he is crying, but that lip is so dang cute!

 Now, if you are wondering why they are outside in their pj's and why the girls hair looks the way it does, let's just say daddy was on duty. I've been doing a lot of running lately to get ready for the KC Marathon Relay that is coming up this next weekend. A few of us decided to do it about 2 months ago and we've all been cramming to get ready. So, this last Sunday morning, we decided to do a 6 mile run. I've been embracing the journey, working hard on not counting how long it takes to run each mile or

 how far down the scale might go, but that is all easier said than done, sometimes.
Spencer got an awesome find at a garage sale, an old Nikon (as old as me). You know the kind where you had to buy film and pay to develop what could be all out of focus pictures? It came with several very unique lenses. They only work on the manual setting with his digital camera, but they work. So fun!

Payge has been so interested in taking pictures, so he let her play around a bit taking pictures of her pony and the others. She actually did a decent job.
How fun this 4 year old age is! I'm doing a Kindergarten homeschool curriculum with both girls this year and everyday I hear, "what's next mommy?' It is hard to keep up with them! I know they are a little young, but I needed to satisfy their desire for school with something. The joys of motherhood, yes, it really is a joy.

Tea party, apple picking, and the most amazing Ice cream ever!

 We went to Iowa last weekend so Spencer could do some tree work for a few family friends. While we were there Grammy had to take the opportunity to have a tea party with the girls and their cousin Natalie. What a hoot! They loved it, of course. Getting to dress up and eat a ridiculous amount of sweets before lunch- what 3 or 4 year old wouldn't!

 Papau took them for a ride around the yard.

 We went apple picking with all the Hansons and Grammy. Even Myles enjoyed sampling our picks! He is walking like a pro now. I think I've been a bad mom and not yet gotten a video of him walking. We may have one Spencer's phone, but I need to work on that. I love those first few days though while they hold their hands up in the air to help them balance.

 My sister in law and I squeezed in a 5 mile run, to help me get ready for the KC Marathon relay. She also had me take her Kettlebell boot camp class the next day; it was killer, but a lot of fun. I made sure to get another scoop of Whitey's Ice Cream to reward myself. Though, I made the mistake of trying 'Graham Central Station'. There are no words. It is a good thing there is nothing like that close by home! I would have to start training for a full marathon.
Another busy weekend, but full of fun!

The Party

We got back from Branson and five days later my sister, "Aunt Aunie", came for the long Labor Day weekend. I have no pictures from her visit, but I know she took at least a hundred. If I had just remembered to download the pictures from her camera...
Anyway, her visit was great. It had been over 5 months since we got to see her and we enjoyed every minute. Hopefully, I will get my hands on some of those pictures!
She helped me get ready for the birthday party we had for Myles the following Saturday, when my parents would be visiting. It never worked out to give the girls a first year birthday and I really regret that. So, since this is the last, I had to makes sure I got it in. Of course, it has nothing to do with the kid's enjoyment, it is just a chance for the parents to celebrate their first year of life. What a year it was!
More pictures to come of my parents short visit, but I had to document the pictures we had of the party.


Myles also started walking the day they flew in. That morning after breakfast he took several steps from the table to the kitchen!
By the way, hope you noticed I am finally learning new technology.

Branson 2011

One of our best memories- laughing until we cried on the boat ride!

Myles fell asleep in Mom's arms

Two years ago my in-laws took us to Branson, MO for the first time. Admittedly, neither Spencer and I were really that excited about it, mostly because we had a 1 year old and a 2 year old, at the time and family vacations had been stressful in the past. It was an amazing trip though and we couldn't wait to go again. Maybe because we figured out how to “switch out” the parenting responsibilities to give each other a vacation or maybe just because Branson is that much fun!

This year, we went for a week of Branson fun with the in-laws, minus Spencer’s sister, husband and four kids. We missed them, but still had a great time. 
We had a boat reservation, but of course it was for the only day that we had rain all morning. We still ventured out and held our breath as lightning flashed around us and the thunder was rolling. At one point we all started laughing hysterically as the rain pounded down on us. It was so comical, all of us out there, the only boat on the water and with two little babies and three kids. You had to be there, but it turned out to be a fantastic day on the boat, as soon as the rain let up.  

The kids got a turn alone on the tube. It lasted until dad revved up and they all fell in. Spencer and I had to use our lifeguard skills to get out there to them quickly. Everyone was fine of course, but we decided not to send them out again without more body weight. We made sure they "got back on the horse", so they wouldn't be scared to try again!

Myles is such a water baby. Just like his sisters; fearless and ready to swim. We love the pool there plus it is just steps from the house we rent.

Papau's buddy, he slept in their closet and loved it when Papau would rescue him from the pack'n'play every morning.

Nanny and Bompa also joined us this year again. The Bievers are long time family friends, practically family, and enjoyed watching all the clever and cute things the kids were doing every minute!

Silver Dollar City Fun!

We tried any rides we could get on. Since school had started in town, SDC was fairly empty. It was Gospel week so the only problem was trying to stay out of the way of the crazy old people on their electric wheel chairs. Watch out!

June is so cute. Haydee loved holding her real life "dolly".

We had to celebrate Myles's first birthday together with some messy chocolate cake.

These are just some of my favorite pictures. We took hundreds of them, between all the cameras. It was another wonderful week together full of great memories. We are so grateful and were blessed to have another vacation thanks to my in-laws!

Sorry about the crazy layout. One of these days I will learn how to do this better, but in effort to not make this post three pages long, well, this is how it turned out.

   Cousins and friends!

Happy Birthday Little Man!

Myles's birthday was going to be the first day of our summer vacation with family in Branson, but two storms back to back had daddy working overtime. The girls and I still did our best to make it a special day and I even got his pictures done at JCPenny. He was teething (4 teeth and 4 molars popped up a few days later) so he wasn't a superstar during the photo shoot, but at least I got them done on his birthday! A dear friend stopped by that afternoon and brought balloons and a birthday cake for Myles, which totally made my day! Thank you friend! ; )

It was so great to have something to make it really feel like his birthday. We moms know how crazy, busy it can get when you are leaving town for a week! He thoroughly enjoyed his cake and even started giggling as the sugar did it's magic, it was awesome. We ended up leaving town close to bed time which made for a really late night, but we got to start our vacation! I will post those pictures next. Well, we made it to the first first year, buddy boy. I treasured every moment, but it did go by fast. You are such a boy, so different than your sisters and every day is a fun adventure with you. You are adored by many and cuter than I could of asked for. A mama's boy for sure, but I love it. Looking forward to seeing God's great purposes and plans unfold in your life!